T&T Clark Handbook to Early Christian Meals in the Greco-Roman World - (T&t Clark Handbooks) by Soham Al-Suadi & Peter-Ben Smit (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

This handbook situates early Christian meals in their broader context, with a focus on the core topics that aid understanding of Greco-Roman meal practice, and how this relates to Christian origins. In addition to looking at the broader Hellenistic context, the contributors explain the unique nature of Christian meals, and what they reveal about early Christian communities and the development of Christian identity.

Beginning with Hellenistic documents and authors before moving on to the New Testament material itself, according to genre - Gospels, Acts, Letters, Apocalyptic Literature - the handbook culminates with a section on the wider resources that describe daily life in the period, such as medical documents and inscriptions. The literary, historical, theological and philosophical aspects of these resources are also considered, including such aspects as the role of gender during meals; issues of monotheism and polytheism that arise from the structure of the meal; how sacrifice is understood in different meal practices; power dynamics during the meal and issues of inclusion and exclusion at meals.

Review Quotes

Meals and dining, often overlooked by biblical scholars, were as definitive for early Christian groups as they were for both Hellenistic and Roman culture. Offering extensive treatment of the New Testament and key literature contemporary with it, the Handbooksurveys how meals are portrayed in texts and demonstrates how deeply dining ritual was tied to ethnic identity, social regulation, gender issues, politics, and religion.
Richard E. DeMaris, Valparaiso University, USA

The expert contributors to this volume provide a wealth of data and analysis for situating New Testament meals - so revelatory of early Christ-movement identity - within their crucial Greco-Roman context. Here theoretical perspectives merge with fresh readings of numerous particular texts, making this book the necessary starting-point for understanding meals and related phenomena in the New Testament.
Philip Esler, University of Gloucestershire, UK

About the Author

Soham Al-Suadi is Professor of New Testament at the University of Rostock, Germany.

Peter-Ben Smit is Professor of Contextual Biblical Interpretation (Dom Hélder Câmara Chair) at Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.